How to keep your guacamole fresh and green

There’s an easy way to keep guacamole fresh and green—without using the pit, adding too much salt, covering it with water, milk or any of the other “tricks” you might find with a quick Google search. If you’ve ever woofed down a whole bowl of guacamole just to keep it from going brown in the refrigerator, your life is about to be changed. I promise this tip is the green-guacamole-for-days jackpot!

My family is always asking me to make guacamole. Always. I make it for parties and barbecues, when people casually drop by and even when somebody calls and asks, “if I drop off the ingredients, will you make it for me?” My dad is by far the biggest culprit of the weekend phone call requesting a drive-by guacamole drop-off. I used to tease him that if it weren’t for the guacamole, he wouldn’t stop by as often.

But with a jam-packed schedule and some travel time occasionally involved on one or both ends to get the ingredients and then deliver the goods to their final destination, it’s not always easy to make the guacamole and deliver and serve it right away. Yet, nobody would ever know that it’s usually been in the refrigerator for a full day beforehand because my guacamole always arrives perfectly green and fresh as if I just made it.

I’m going to reveal a method and kitchen tip that is going to turn you into a guacamole hero. But be warned; I can’t be held responsible if friends and family start calling to drop off ingredients because you earn a reputation for having the greenest guacamole they’ve ever seen!

HOW TO KEEP YOUR GUACAMOLE FRESH AND GREEN

STEP 1: Choose avocados that are barely ripe. They should give only very slightly when you press the skin. Prep all the ingredients (onion, chile, lime, tomato, cilantro, etc.) before you cut the avocados open. The flesh should not be too creamy/soft when you open them and you shouldn’t find brown or dark spots on the flesh at all.

STEP 3: Using plastic wrap, press the plastic directly against the top of the guacamole and seal along the edges of the dish until it’s as air-tight as possible. Bonus if you have a dish or tupperware that you can seal with plastic wrap and also put a lid on top to seal it again. The key is to prevent the avocado from being exposed to any air. This guacamole pictured below was refrigerated for 24 hours before being delivered to my dad, and it came out exactly the same shade of green as before it was refrigerated.

STEP 4: If you don’t eat all your leftovers in one sitting, smooth out the top with a spoon or spatula again and put the plastic wrap back on the same way before refrigerating.

I’ve managed to keep my guacamole green for up to three whole days, on average, with this method before it starts to turn brown on the edges.

The middle will still stay green, and while the edges might have turned a little brown if you didn’t seal it well enough, it’s still perfectly safe to eat. Just remember each time you eat from the dish to keep the top of the guacamole level and covered with the plastic wrap touching the top of the guacamole and the sides of the dish, sealing it so no air can get in before you refrigerate.

Thanks, Ben. I never knew where the idea about the pits came from either, but it has never really served me. The pit will only keep the guacamole directly around it green, it seems, because it’s not really limiting the oxygen hitting the avocado. Citrus (lime juice) does help delay the color change a bit because of its acidity, but it can’t do all the work. Refrigerating it and keeping the oxygen out gives it the most mileage whether you plan to serve it the next day or are just protecting leftovers.

So, this might sound weird, but we add olive oil to keep our guacamole green. My husband first saw a Spanish woman do this, and we thought, of course, that she didn’t know any better. However, we have discovered that it keeps the guacamole green without having to be so careful about protecting from air!

Karen, aside from a vacuum bag such as a Foodsaver, which can be used in the refrigerator or freezer, I don’t know of any other product for keeping something like guacamole airtight. I also wouldn’t recommend keeping the same batch of guacamole for an entire month. Your best bet is to make small batches more than once a month to enjoy guacamole so that it’s fresh. The other ingredients in guacamole, such as fresh, diced tomato, won’t keep that long. You can always adjust the portions for recipes so you make a much smaller recipe. I often take a single avocado in my lunchbox and mash it up with lime juice, a little diced onion, tomato and chile serrano, with a sprinkle of salt to eat with my lunch.

And hereI thought I was the only person who used plastic wrap like this. It has always worked for me. I have been using this method for 30 yearrs, I also use it on puddings other types of dips and basically any dish that needs to be protected from air. Works every time! Thanks for sharing it with the new generations.

I don’t know where or when using the pit to keep it green became a “myth” or a joke. It has always worked for me and it still does. It could be that I only save gauc overnight ( there’s not a lot leftover and it goes the very next day.) Perhaps it (the pit0 does not work for keeping the guac green longer than that– overnight/next day. Somehow, I’ve never run into that problem– having a lot leftover or making it more than overnight ahead of time. I think, longer than that and it would not be fresh or taste fresh,– beyond the issue of its color. Guacamole is one of those prepare and serve dishes.

Don’t throw away the pits!…clean them dry…insert 2 toothpics one on each side..Place in a cup covering 1/2 the seed with water….after maybe 2 weeks the seed will split and a root will begin to grow in the bottom part…keep 1/2 way in water..and a stem will start growing from the top..place the seed with the root in dirt..and you can grow an avocado plant!!!

Great tip! I’ve been doing this for years and you are so right. It really, truly works. And what is this “leftover guacamole” you speak of? Never heard of such a thing. 🙂

(I think the whole pit idea came from someone’s notion long ago that avos don’t get brown inside, so hey, it must be the pit that is protecting it. And then once someone said that, it caught on. That’s my theory, anyway.)

[…] Guacamole tastes great when it is made fresh and the best way to keep it from turning brown is simply to add citrus juice. Whether it is the juice of half a lemon or a lime, both work wonders in keeping the avocado looking appetizing and delicious for many hours! […]

[…] not sure you’ll be able to resist eating it all in one sitting) you can check out my tutorial on how to keep guacamole fresh and green with a great tip that applies for this dish as well if you plan to store it in the refrigerator for […]

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Hi, I'm Maura Hernández. Welcome to my kitchen! I'm an award-winning food and travel blogger, recipe developer, and journalist sharing my passion for all things Mexico. Married to a Chilango, I've traveled Mexico extensively for the last decade. On The Other Side of The Tortilla, you'll find a mix of traditional and modern Mexican cooking, along with my advice on where to eat, stay and play on your visit to Mexico! READ MORE ABOUT ME...

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